Both southern California students competing in the final day of the Scripps National Spelling Bee fell short of the grand prize Thursday night, May 26.

Aisha Randhawa, a 10-year-old Corona native, was eliminated after misspelling the word “bouleuterion,” defined as an ancient Greek council chamber. A fifth-grader at Garretson Elementary School, Randhawa nailed “colcannon” and “discountenance” during preliminary competition Wednesday to advance to the final round.

Cooper Komatsu, 13, an eighth-grader at Culver City Middle School, came in eighth after misspelling “illicium,” a Latin word referring to the dangling portion of an anglerfish’s anatomy.

Despite the setback, Aisha spoke in a cheerful tone during a phone call Thursday morning, saying she “didn’t expect to get this far.”

“I’m pretty happy, especially since it’s my first time,” Aisha said. “I have three more possible years, I’m pretty sure I’ll be back.”

The precocious Corona resident said she likes reading, riding her bike and playing with her dogs. For now, she has her sights set on being an ophthalmologist – “that’s an eye doctor,” Aisha clarifies – but she’s open to what the world has to offer.

And like any great competitor, Aisha’s loss taught her a useful lesson.

“With a lot of the words, there’s a big luck factor,” Aisha said. “The next word after the one I misspelled, I knew. It was a bit disappointing. But my dad said that’s sometimes how life goes.”

Happy Randhawa, Aisha’s father, spent more than two hours each night helping his daughter prepare for the bee.

“It’s a great gift, an honor to be able to help her get to this point,” Happy Randhawa said.

Even after studying was finished, he’d often find his daughter lost in a book and have to remind her to come to dinner.

“If she didn’t have the drive, there’s no way that she’d be here,” Simmi Randhawa, Aisha’s mother, said. “I was just telling her, ‘it’s an honor to be your mother.’ I just can’t thank God enough. Hopefully she’ll continue to do her best, that’s all we ever ask of her.”

Of the 284 spellers that made it to Maryland, only 45 progressed through the initial test and two preliminary rounds of competition to take their spot on the main stage Thursday morning. Komatsu was the only southern California student to make it to the final 10 Thursday night.

The bee, which ended in a tie, was held in National Harbor, Md. The co-winners, Jairam Hathwar, 13, and Nihar Janga, 11, each received $45,000 in cash and prizes.

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